Yes, Ontario bees are under threat, as are bees in the rest of Canada, the U.S., Australia and anywhere neonicotinoid-coated seeds are widely used.

The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association has come to its position calling for the suspension of these chemicals carefully and incrementally, as we have watched the agonizing deaths of millions of our bees, and as the scientific evidence linking these deaths to neonicotinoid pesticides mounts. We, too, originally supported best practices of farmers as a key strategy to mitigate the impact of the pesticides; but as we have learned — however willing the farmers are — it will not be enough. Best practices are aimed at reducing the spread of dust during planting. They will not prevent toxic buildup in the soil. Nor will they prevent the spread of these water-soluble chemicals to ponds or other sources of water that bees access during the spring and summer.

The remedy is simple: we have to stop using seeds coated with deadly pesticides, and we have to do it now.